Illinois campaign disclosure law upheld

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois: On September 10, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago upheld Illinois state campaign disclosure laws which were under attack from the Center for Individual Freedom. The Center had filed a lawsuit that the campaign disclosure laws hindered freedom of speech for the group, but the claim was dismissed by the judge. The law which was in question states that any advocacy group must disclose their donors, even if the organization has a main purpose which is unrelated to elections. In 2010, the Center had been seeking to run campaign adds in the state, they are based in Alexandria Virginia, but realized they would have to register as a political committee and disclose its donors. As a result, the Center did not run adds in the 2010 election and decided to sue the state for violating the 1st and 14th amendments. The lawsuit was dismissed in November 2011 by another judge, but the group tried an appeal which has now been dismissed again. The lawsuit will likely head to the Supreme Court now.[1]